The Scotsman

Search goes on for woman ‘swept away’

- By ALASTAIR DALTON adalton@scotsman.com

Three Coastguard rescue teams joined a resumed search yesterday for a woman believed to have been swept into an Aberdeensh­ire river amid torrential rain and the worst flooding since 2016.

It came as the Met Office issued Scotland’s first severe weather warning of the autumn for ice for that area for last night.

The maritime and coast guard Agency said it had been asked to send teams from Aberdeen, Macduff and Stonehaven to support the Police Scotland operation on the River Don at Monymusk, north-east of Aberdeen.

The woman is believed to have got into difficulty while attempting to rescue a dog. A Police Scotland spokespers­on said :“searches are ongoing. we have nothing else to add.”

Monymusk Parish Church minister Euan Glen held a candlelit vigil for the woman, who he referred to as Hazel, in the church at 6.30pm last night.

The Met Office yellow warning for ice lasted from 8pm on Sunday to 9.30am today for most of Aberdeensh­ire and Angus, Aberdeen and the eastern edges of Moray, Perthshire and the Highland Council area.

It said :“a much drier and cold er night than of late with a frost developing quite widely over Scotland and ice likely to form on untreated surfaces.

"The north-east of Scotland will see the greatest ice risk, where surfaces are still wet from recent rain and run off from fields and higher ground. Fog or freezing fog patches are also likely to form overnight which will add to the difficult traveling conditions.”

Temperatur­es were expected to fall to -4C in places such as Aboyne and Huntly in Aberdeensh­ire. The alert followed a yellow severe weather warning for heavy rain for easternand angus until 3 pm on Sunday.

Eight flood warnings were also in force on Sunday across the area as well as in Perthshire and Orkney. They covered the River Don in Kintore, the South Esk near Brechin, Brothock Water in Arbroath, three on the River Isla around Coupar Angus, the River Earn south of Perth and the churchill barriers in Orkney.

Inspector Rory Campbell from Police Scotland said on Saturday: "Conditions are tricky and dangerous and I am appealing to members of the public to stay away from flooded areas.

The Scottish Environmen­t Protection agency said brech in river levels on the South Esk reached their highest on record, while in Ballater the River Dee reached the second highest level ever.

Meantime, mo ff at and strathclyd­e Police mountain rescue teams helped recover an injured paraglider who had dislocated his knee when he was dragged along the ground while trying to take off from near the summit of Tinto Hill in South Lanarkshir­e on Saturday.

Justice Secretary and lead Minister for resilience Keith Brown said: “This was a serious flood event similar in magnitude to 2016’s Storm Frank, causing significan­t disruption in some parts of the country.

“As the clean-up gets underway, I want to thank local resilience partners and the emergency services for their ongoing work to ensure those communitie­s most affected are kept safe, and urgently get the support they need.

 ?? ?? ↑ The flooded River Don between Kintore and Dyce on Saturday
↑ The flooded River Don between Kintore and Dyce on Saturday

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